LONDON — Knicks point guard Emmanuel Mudiay didn’t see much of London on his second trip to Britain. He was laid up with a head cold.
Mudiay saw plenty of net through three quarters Thursday against the Wizards, however, when he made nine of his first 10 shots, further establishing himself as a potential point guard of the future.
But in the end, Mudiay couldn’t make enough big plays in the fourth quarter as the Knicks blew a 12-point lead and lost 101-100. Mudiay finished with 25 points on 11-of-18 shooting with seven rebounds but also had five turnovers.
Afterward, coach David Fizdale said the Knicks don’t have “a closer.” What they have, he explained, is players who take over for parts of a game but not at the finish. He seemed to be referring to Mudiay.
“It happens with spurts with different guys,” Fizdale said. “Then they get so rambunctious about it, they try to will it. And now we’re holding the ball. These are things they have to learn and suffer through.”
Mudiay said he feels he can be the one to pull games out — and has done so this season against Milwaukee and Charlotte.
“I’m confident in that,” said Mudiay, who has started since November. “That’s one thing, I’m not afraid of the moment.”
With 0.4 seconds left, Mudiay took the inbounds pass, but his turnaround was a wild airball.
“I took that shot, so I had all confidence in that shot,’’ Mudiay said. “Last play when we had the ball I slipped a little bit.”
Considering his illness, Mudiay had one healthy night here — a positive step in what is becoming a breakout season. In 2017, Mudiay faced Indiana in his second season with Denver. This one didn’t go as well off the court. Mudiay said the combination of the two-week West Coast trip this month with the flight here felled him.
“I was sick most of the trip, so I was just in my room most of the time,” Mudiay said. “It’s a great experience to be out here. Definitely a blessing to play in front of fans that don’t get to see us live. It was definitely fun. But I couldn’t really explore how I wanted to.”
The stats didn’t show it, but rookie center Mitchell Robinson was impressive in his return from a month-long absence. He played just 10 minutes, scoring on an alley-oop on his first possession. He had an offensive putback dunk and a block in succession in the third quarter.
“We look different with him,” Fizdale said. “If you’re an avid fan watching the game, you see a huge difference in our athleticism. Is he screwing up stuff? Of course. Especially because he’s missed so much time. His timing is off and conditioning was a factor. But all that said, I thought he had a really good impact on this game today.” … NBA commissioner Adam Silver said his analytics showed fans from 39 countries buying tickets for Thursday’s contest online. The game was televised in more than 200 countries and territories, the NBA said.
Knicks alums Earl Monroe, Latrell Sprewell, Charles Smith and John Starks sat courtside
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